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If you missed it, Community Manager Appreciation Day was this past Monday, the fourth Monday in January. As the Wikipedia link notes: Community Manager Appreciation Day is "... a way to recognize and celebrate the efforts of community managers around the world using social media and other tools to improve customer experiences."

While community management is a growing and discrete role in many organizations, I don't want to highlight that here. Instead, I want to take this opportunity (albeit a few days late) to thank YOU, our clients, business partners, IBMers, and extended readership for what you do within the communities in which you participate.

You may recall a "Think Friday" blog post from last year in which I expounded on how each of you are indeed community managers. Specifically I noted: "As active members in social networks, we create our own ad hoc communities every time we post content, be it a status updated about what we had for lunch or a longer missive on a facet of today's society. In each case, we own the responsibility of managing these ad hoc communities just like a 'formal' community manager would. Likewise, when we comment on other's posts, we are engaging as a member of their community and have the responsibility to act accordingly."

So, you see, Community Manager Appreciation Day isn't just about those of us working in the specifically defined roles; it is also about YOU and our appreciation for how you manage your own ad hoc communities to build value for yourself and your network. While curating your own network is often its own reward, sometimes it is also important to acknowledge how critical managing your own communities really is to not only the value you see, but the value we all see from those efforts. Your own community management activities helps us all grow, and because social business IS a community, none of us can really grow without the rest of you!

So, cheers to you all for being awesome community managers! I look forward with great anticipation to seeing what the next year brings for all of us in these spaces!

Are you following us on your preferred social channel? Did you know we've launched both a GooglePlus and Tumblr blog in the last year?

While no channel is meant to be a catch-all, we want to get you the information you want and need in the channels you are most comfortable. Do you find twitter is the best place to find our content and engage with us? Follow us there! Twitter not your style but rather you prefer Facebook? We're posting there as well. Like to be cutting edge? try following our GooglePlus and/or Tumblr blog to help you find the right information at the right time! Check out our news document linked below to see all the channels on which we're active and follow us on the ones you're most comfortable.

And, without losing sight of the work we do in the newer social channels, we also want to ensure you don't forget about some of the most effective community based channels out there surrounding Rational products and topics. Finding answers from previous questions, or even direct community based help with your own specific question can be a great way to leverage the collective wisdom, but even better is when you can join in the conversations and share your own expertise to help others.

While the above are great resources for truly social support with clients and IBMers alike all participating, we also recognize that this isn't a complete list of all the forums or social channels out there. Is your favourite one missing? Let us know in the comments and we'll add it to the list! Or, do you have some other favourite method for finding answers or sharing answers which we haven't touched on? We'd love to hear about those as well!

This is a re-print from the original post by Jason O'Donnell on www.waywardcelt.com which ran on August 20th:

The number one barrier that prevents people from engaging in social business is their fear of saying the wrong thing.

Addressing that issue has proven difficult as it involves so many variables and is deeply rooted in the individual’s own psychology. It is a myriad of obstacles that get in the way of engagement here, any one of which can be the one issue that prevents someone from playing in social media, or it could be a complex web of issues woven to prevent adoption. For me, the solution was two-fold:

I had to own my words; to stand behind them and take responsibility for them.

I then had to understand and own the ramifications of my words. For me this entailed being okay with people not agreeing with me or disliking me because of my words (something I still struggle with).

Luckily, I have a wonderful tool to help guide me in the social media world as I interact and engage in valuable conversation. The IBM Social computing guidelines give me the framework to avoid saying the wrong things on-line and provides you with the same benefit:

2. IBMers are personally responsible for the content they publish on-line, whether in a blog, social computing site or any other form of user-generated media. Be mindful that what you publish will be public for a long time; protect your privacy and take care to understand a site’s terms of service.

3. Identify yourself- name and, when relevant, role at IBM-when you discuss IBM-related matters such as IBM products or services. You must make it clear that you are speaking for yourself and not on behalf of IBM.

4. If you publish content online relevant to IBM in your personal capacity it is best to use a disclaimer such as this: “The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.”

5. Respect copyright, fair use and financial disclosure laws.

6. Don’t provide IBM’s or a client’s, partner’s or supplier’s confidential or other proprietary information and never discuss IBM business performance or other sensitive matters about business results or plans publicly.

7. Don’t cite or reference clients, partners or suppliers on business-related matters without their approval. When you do make a reference, link back to the source and do not publish content that might allow inferences to be drawn which could damage a client relationship with IBM.

8. Respect your audience. Don’t use ethnic slurs, discriminatory remarks, personal insults, obscenity, or engage in any similar conduct that would not be appropriate or acceptable in IBM’s workplace. You should also show proper consideration for others’ privacy.

9. Be aware of your association with IBM in online social networks. If you identify yourself as an IBMer, ensure your profile and related content is consistent with how you wish to present yourself with colleagues and clients.

10. Spirited and passionate discussions and debates are fine, but you should be respectful of othersand their opinions. Be the first to correct your own mistakes.

11. Try to add value. Provide worthwhile information and perspective. IBM’s brand is best represented by its people and what you publish may reflect on IBM’s brand.

12. Don’t misuse IBM logos or trademarks and only use them if you have the authority to do so. For example, you shouldn’t use IBM in your screen name or other social media ID.

Take a moment and also real the Detailed Discussion section of the IBM Social Computing Guidelines here, as it will explain some of the above in better and clearer terms than I am capable.

Once you have a handle on the social computing guidelines, life becomes so much easier... but even then, you or your employees may still be hesitant to start sharing, or think they don’t have anything to say... that’s okay. After creating your account, go find a few people to follow then start listening to how they are interacting. Take the next step by highlighting some of the ideas or information you find that you agree with and reshare those. After a while you’ll start to really get a feel for what you want to be saying and how to say it effectively as well.

Lastly, and this may seem overly simplistic though it is true: don’t worry about making a mistake. If you are playing in the social spaces you will make a mistake; but that’s okay too. Acknowledge when it happens and make your correction as soon as you can. In this way you can own your words and your mistake. This behaviour makes all the difference between a big or small mistake; between something that blows up or blows past.

Remember that social business is no different from any other interaction in the core values. If you pick up a phone or respond to emails in a professional capacity you can engage in social business as well. You have the trust of your company behind you, all you need now is the same trust in yourself and your success will be imminent! Just remember to follow the social computing guidelines, especially so if you share something you disagree with...

Are you following us on your preferred social channel? Did you know we've recently launched a GooglePlus and Tumblr blog? While no channel is meant to be a catch-all, we want to get you the information you want and need in the channels you are most comfortable with. Do you find twitter is the best place to find our content and engage with us? Follow us there! Twitter not your style but rather you prefer Facebook? We're posting there as well to help you find the right information at the right time! Check out our news document linked below to see all the channels on which we're active and follow us on the ones you're most comfortable with:

Without losing sight of the work we do in the newer social channels, we also want to ensure you don't forget about some of the most effective community based channels out there surrounding Rational products and topics. Finding answers from previous questions, or even direct community based help with your own specific question can be a great way to leverage the collective wisdom, but even better is when you can join in the conversations and share your own expertise to help others.

While the above are great resources for truly social support with clients and IBMers alike all participating, we also recognize that this isn't a complete list of all the forums or social channels out there. Is your favourite one missing? Let us know in the comments and we'll add it to the list! Or, do you have some other favourite method for finding answers or sharing answers which we haven't touched on? We'd love to hear about those as well!